It is important to put your child’s interest first in custody and visitation issues associated with a Louisville divorce. Families with children in Kentucky often experience challenges and disagreements regarding child custody during a separation or divorce. The transition from marriage to separate parenting can be quite challenging, however, it is essential to keep the best interests of each child in mind.
Kentucky Courts have found it is in the best interest of each child and central to the well-being of your children to share equal quality time (if not actual time) with each parent after a divorce. This calculation substantially changes when factors associated with domestic violence, child abuse, drug or alcohol addiction, or other criminal activity are present in the matter at hand.
The good news for parents in a Louisville divorce is this: there are many different ways to approach child custody and visitation while maintaining the best interests of the child(ren). While a few standard formulas have been proven over time, there is also tremendous flexibility for parenting a child after a divorce.
One of the most important things to keep in mind is that the Court is always carefully observing and scrutinizing each parent’s behavior during every aspect of the divorce process. How you comport yourself, both in Court and in communications outside of the proceedings, will tremendously impact how the Court views you if the child custody portion of your divorce becomes contentious.
How do you put your child’s interest first in custody and visitation discussions, mediation, and/or before placing the matter before the Court? The experienced divorce and family law attorneys at Dodd & Dodd can help to evaluate your position as a parent and make suggestions to help improve the likelihood of accomplishing your goals and objectives for child custody and visitation.
For example, consider the existing rhythms in the life of each child. How active are you in each of the moments between when the child awakes and when they go to sleep at night? Do you participate in preparing breakfast or the child’s lunch? Do you assist with transport to and from school or daycare? Are you actively participating in the child’s studies, homework, and parent-teacher conferences? How about extra-curricular activities. The more actively you positively support and participate in each part of your child’s life, the more likely you are to protect your own goals and interests as a parent during and after a divorce.
There are challenges in almost every divorce. You may be dealing with a controlling former spouse or even diagnosed narcissism. Every divorce is unique, but as a parent who is concerned about how to put your child’s interest first in custody and visitation proceedings, you’ll want to carefully manage every communication you are a part of. At least your side of it.
How should you maintain composure and your standing as a parent in these cases? One example might be to exchange all communications with a problematic spouse regarding the children in written form, such as a text or email. This provides the opportunity to withdraw from negative or hostile communications and respond from a position of calm, collected reasoning. It also provides a potentially significant record for the proceedings at hand. The decision to avoid verbal and written hostilities will not only help to make the process of the divorce easier to handle and manage, it can establish and even improve your standing before the Court as a parent. It can also help to reduce the actual cost of your divorce.
Put your child’s interest first in custody and visitation issues associated with a Louisville divorce, as well as child custody and parenting plans. Sharing the job of parenting your child(ren) requires each parent to effectively communicate with each other as parents while resisting any effort to place a child in the midst of any dispute.
If you are a parent who is considering or approaching a divorce in Louisville we invite you to review the strong recommendations of our former clients and contact us or call 502-584-1108 to schedule an appointment with one of our experienced divorce and family law attorneys.
